George Dixon is a fascinating figure, because he seems to have been held in high esteem by all contemporary fighters and observers, irrespective of any racial predudice they may have had. This content is protected This content is protected This content is protected
Very surprising that Corbett and Sullivan were in attendance. I have seen quotes from both praising skilled black lower-weight guys...Maybe they just had it in for the big boys?
The colour line was nothing more than a money making method/marketing tool. There were very, very few actual racists as most people think of them, even in those days, at least among most normal people, and certainly among the boxing crowd. Dixon wasnt the only one loved and idolised by Many whites, and it wasnt only the lighter weights. Peter Jackson, for instance, seems to have been idolised by pretty much everybody.
It should be noted that while Joe Gans, Joe Walcott and Jack Johnson were often criticised for carrying oponents and staging fake fights, nobody ever seems to have a bad word to say about Dixon.
No one ever had much bad to say about Peter Jackson either. Dixon to me is hard to evaluate as he never beat a hall of fame fighter, and the only existing film of him is past his prime when he looks slow for a lower weight fighter. I once read that Dixon was in a fight where ringside observers would take cracks at his legs with sticks. As a result, he learned how to fight well in the center of the ring. Not sure if its true or not.
